PROGRESS UPDATE
The Southern Downs Regional Council had a General Council meeting on Wednesday 27th August . The Engineers report was presented . See page 78 item 10.4 of the council meeting minutes . It has been moved seconded and carried . Another step closer .
http://www.southerndowns.qld.gov.au/sdr ... &Itemid=30

PROGRESS UPDATE
The Southern Downs Regional Council has invited us to morning tea , followed by joining the Council meeting for DISCUSSION OF OUR REQUEST .
The next Council meeting is 24 th September , which we will attend , at Stanthorpe . Being held in Stanthorpe , means being able to visit the Stanthorpe airstrip ( actually in Applethorpe ) ,for at least an optical over the fence or maybe even an escorted visit onto the airstrip ( I,ve seen it before and theres pic in this forum , I like it ) .
I believe this will be one of our most critical meetings in our progress towards using an airstrip for speedtrials .
If you have anything that you believe needs addressing at the Council meeting , please let us know . Leave a message here or call Bob , Paul Chris or myself .

Method:
Beat together butter, sugar and salt with electric mixer.
Add egg, then pumpkin and stir in the flour.
Turn on to floured board and cut.
Place in tray on top shelf of very hot oven 225-250c for 15-20 minutes.

I can't make it on the 24th as I'll be in Sydney on holidays and as a southerner I don't think the recipe works for us. We'll need a native of the north to make the scones. Let's see, you're out, Bob's out, Matt - I can't visualise Matt making scones, that leaves Chris. I reckon Chris could make anything. There's the nomination, do I have a second??

PROGRESS REPORT
Southern Downs Regional Council meeting 11 am Wed 24th September
Bob Ellis and myself will be attending . The main purpose is a giving and taking of information re our conducting time trials on Stanthorpe or Warwick aerodromes .

The council has sent us drafts for the following :
1/ Terms and conditions for speed trials .
2/ Special operating conditions for speed trials .
3/ Agreement for alternative use of aerodrome .

At no point has it been announced that , YES , we can use the aerodrome/s , it just a step by step process , with all parties eventually coming to agreement for conducting speed trials .

We are a fair way down the track for our events to happen , and we are pretty confident now that it will be happening . A few hurdles are to be overcome yet , but we will get there . If we can get as many as possible to work with us , the quicker we can get the speed going .

C Hanlon wrote:Well Don I'll have you know I'm an excellent cook and will accept your scone challenge. This will go a long way towards running an event. What flavour jam would you like with the wipped cream? Chris

Southern Downs Regional Council meeting 24 th Sept .
Bob Ellis and myselfe drove to the meeting ( 210 km away ) .
We had morning tea with the Mayor , Ron Bellingham , and Councillors , and we were introduced to the Mayor by the Chief Engineer Peter See .
When the meeting recommenced I gave a talk on salt lake racing and our reasons for wanting to use an airstrip in their area . After that it was question time from the Mayor and Councillors , Bob answering the technical ones and myselfe the more general ones . Their main concerns are possible damage to the airstrip surface . We have assured them that this wont happen . Overall we both felt it went well , with Councillors now much more informed of our intentions .
Peter See , the chief engineer will be contacting us again shortly .
There were 3 newspapers reporting on the meeting , and am expecting some phone calls from them this week .

Yep we still trying to organise an event . As mentioned before , we have a venue . Our main issue at the moment is getting Insurance . Bob Ellis has been working hard on getting insurance . Last week I rang the insurance compeny ( broker ) to see how its all going . This is Cowdens , they do the insurance for the Lake Gairdner event . Last weeks reply was that yep , they can reinsure for the Lake Gairdner event , however they have a slight issue with running an event on an airstrip . They said they would get back to me in a week . And guess what , they didnt . So I rang them again , but they guy we dealing with wasnt there . JAYSIS CHROST !!! No wonder Bob is at the banging head on wall stage , now its my turn .

ps . I am off to NZ tommorrow for 12 days , so lets hope we have an answer by the time I get back .

Guys, this is going to happen come hell or high water so hang on to your life jackets.
Theres a bus leaving NSW with spectactors for goodness sake so we have to put on a show for the punters. The rest is small stuff and as a long departed mate of mine once told me "don't swett the small stuff' so I guess this means get your shit together cause we'll be racing soon.